I Secondi della Lanternaia

I’ve been holding off on the second courses from La Lanternaia for a while now, gathering more photographs and material to add, my husband and I are both more drawn to the pastas. There are some exceptional secondi that we have had, mainly fish, since my heart belongs in the sea, big chunks of meat have never really lured me in. My favorite has been the simple grilled orata, which I have had twice and each time it was fresher than the first. I love orata, it is the perfect single serving fish, light and was always my go to fish when we were living in Rome. The thing about fish is that it is always best kept simple, I learned this from my mother-in-law, who has always made mouthwatering fish, but never gets fancy on it. Grilled, roasted or fried with salt, olive oil and a little lemon and the fish will do the rest.

Lo chef has certainly gotten fancy on the fish, and it has all been delicious, using tempura batters to fry it and serving it in delicious purées, a millefoglie of fish fillets with a smoked cheese, rebelling against all rules of never pairing fish with cheese. I even tried fried octupus, which I didn’t even think was possible.

My husband has been the meat enthusiast at the restaurant, ordering everything from lamb to veal to pork. I have joined him a few times, but haven’t gotten all that excited by any of them. I am not sure I am such a big fan of veal, and if I am, I don’t think that I want it cut as a filet mignon, but leaner, skinnier and less hunk o meaty. I’m sorry I missed the lamb, I had a taste of it and it was heavenly, just the way I like it. I had a steak and though the meat was good, there was a lot of grissle and I wasn’t crazy about the mustard sauce that it came with.

I think my limitations with the secondi di carne have more to do with taste than quality of the meals. I’m not a huge meat eater and though I do enjoy it on occasion, the regularity with which I have the opportunity to eat it here is too much for my gut. The day that I can cook my own food can’t come soon enough, we may become vegetarians for a month or so.